Clarets move forward together.

After all the action that's taken place off the field over the last couple weeks it was a relief to finally watch a game of football. A trip to Old Trafford was undoubtedly one of the highlights in terms of must see away clashes this season but nobody could've expected to go there in the circumstances in which we did.

Our first game in the post Coyle era couldn't have been harder. It was certainly a baptism of fire for our new manager Brian Laws but to be honest I think it made it all the more special. The match ended three nil, however the result was never important. This was a day to show that Burnley Football Club was together and can never be ground down.

It was certainly a special atmosphere amongst the fans that’d made their way to the Theatre of Dreams to follow the mighty Clarets. The air was filled with pride and passion as we welcomed in a new dawn but at the same it was also tinged with hurt following the unsavoury managerial departure we had endured.

This was evident as the players made their way onto the pitch; “BRIAN LAWS CLARET AND BLUE ARMY” was the unwavering chant from the corner of the East Stand. As Brian made his way down the touchline towards the fans it felt like we could go on forever, each round not only gave our new boss our seal of approval but also provided us with some much needed therapy to help heal our emotional scars.

After singing out a few frustrations and giving our new man the thumbs up, all that was needed now was a performance. And the players didn’t disappoint. We were more than a match for Manchester United for the majority of the game. It took them sixty four minutes to break us down before Berbatov and the superb Rooney gave them a two nil cushion within minutes. But before that it could so easily have been Burnley who were in front.

Fletcher and Nugent in particular had chances in the first half but poor finishing and decision making saw us fail to take our chances. Then in the second, Nugent again wasted a golden chance as he toed the ball wide after being brilliantly played through by the excellent Chris Eagles. That’s not to say United didn’t have their chances, they enjoyed much of the possession in the first half, but like us picked the wrong options and rarely troubled Brian Jensen when they chose right. They most troubling thing at the break was Steve Fletcher’s injury, after he limped off with an ankle injury.

Valencia was seeing much of the ball on the right flank with United making the most of the cross field ball. Eagles was failing to support Jordan at left back but the centre half pairing of Duff and Edgar rarely put a foot wrong in dealing with balls in the box. Special praise must go out to these two; Duff, who started his career in non league football, has played out of skin ever since getting his place in the side, while Edgar made a superb debut after not being anywhere near the first team after signing from Newcastle in the summer. After being ignored by Coyle, his emergence could prove to be another positive from the change in regime.

While Eagles didn’t help much defensively he more than made up for it going the other way. The way he runs at defenders is frightening at the moment, not many have been able to cope with his pace, skill and balance. At times there is a lack of end product, but he certainly looked more dangerous than the likes of Valencia and Nani on the day.

Despite going two nil down it was great to see the players continue to take the fight to United. We continued to press and push for what would have been a well deserved goal. Unfortunately the impressive Steve Thompson’s header hit the post and we were denied a cast iron penalty as Wade Elliot’s cross was handled by Gary Neville after Tyrone Mears free kick was saved. Then cruelly, United got a third after sub Diouf headed over Brian Jensen after latching onto a through ball from Valencia. It was to finish there, three nil, a more than flattering score line for the champions.

But like I said earlier this was about more than the result. The day showed the solidarity amongst Burnley fans who not only vocally showed their backing for our new manager but also for our chairman when the chant of “there’s only one Barry Kilby” broke out. In what must have been a hard couple of weeks for him, it was only right we show our appreciation for the man who has transformed Burnley Football Club from a finically stricken league one side to debt free Premier League upstarts.

In contrast, on the rare occasions the almost mute Manchester United fans broke their silence was to vent their anger at the Glaziers and the clubs spiralling 700 million pound debt. They were fully mocked for it by the Clarets faithful with chants of “where’s your money gone”, “USA” and “we’ve got more cash than you”. Sadly my self-penned “we’re gonna buy your ground on ebay” didn’t get off the ground, but I encourage fans of any other clubs to give it a whirl.

The fact is Burnley fan can be proud to boast about the state of their finances to most clubs in the Premier League. Money may have been a key issue in Coyle’s departure and even in Brian Laws appointment but I wouldn’t change a thing. Burnley may be an unfashionable club, but with people like the Glaziers around the way we are doing things may soon have to become the latest “in” trend in the Premier League. And if Brain Laws can inspire us to more spirited performances like the one we saw at Old Trafford then I have no doubt that that is where we’ll stay; and continue to be a small town club breaking the mould in the big league.